So much forjoined up government and minimising burdens on business. Having just forcedlarge retailers to spend almost £16 million refitting stores to hide tobaccoproducts the Government is now confirming it’s considering legislation onpackaging. That’scrazy and completely against the Government’s own better regulation principles.If a decision is taken to go ahead with plain packaging, concealing productsfrom view in shops becomes irrelevant.

Conservative MP Mark Field has spoken out against the proposed plans, warning that enforcing plain cigarette packages could infringe fundermaental legal rights and do further damage to the economy.

"The enforced introduction of plain packaging would infringe fundamental legal rights routinely afforded to international business, erode British intellectual property and brand equity and would create a dangerous precedent for the future of commercial free speech.

"I suspect plain packaging will result in other sorts of negative impacts, including the increased health threat posed by counterfeit tobacco, the encouragement of smuggled products and damaging competition.

"Indeed, the Treasury is already losing around £3 billion a year from tobacco that has evaded UK duty; criminal gangs operating a contraband supply chain at the expense of legitimate businesses.

"All of this could result in a potential loss of investment and jobs that goes way beyond the tobacco manufacturing sector."

Tobacco advertising is rightly banned in the UK, yet current glitzy packaging clearly still advertises tobacco on the cigarette box. It's an absurd loophole the tobacco industry takes full advantage of to lure in new young smokers. We must close if we really want to protect younger generations from taking up this fatal habit."

– Betty McBride, The British Heart Foundation's Director of Policy and Communications

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It's vital that the UK closes one of the last remaining loopholes that portrays smoking as something glamorous and normal, rather than the lethal product it truly is. Ending the packet racket and putting all cigarettes in plain packs with large health warnings is crucial. No one wants to see children take up smoking, and while plain packs won't stop everyone from smoking, it will give millions of children one less reason to start.

The Government is set to pave the way for cigarette packets to be stripped of all branding Credit: Reuters

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of campaigning charity Action on Smoking and Health, said: "The consultation is just the first step, putting us in pole position to be the first European nation to put tobacco in plain, standardised packs.

"Now that cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorship and tobacco displays have all been banned this is the obvious next step if the Government truly wants to make smoking history."